Grave concerns spark plan to look out for cemeteries

A NETWORK is to be launched dedicated to exploring, preserving and promoting the cemetery heritage of the North East.

- TONY HENDERSON

The North East Funerary Heritage Group (NEFHG) plans will be discussed at a public event on Wednesday at 1pm in Newcastle Cathedral.

It will bring together the social history and glimpses of lives given by inscriptions on gravestones and mark cemeteries as historically important places in the region.

The new regional group is the idea of Newcastle University’s Dr Myra Giesen, who is leading the current project to explore the Ballast Hills cemetery on the edge of the Ouseburn Valley between Albion Street and Ford Street in Newcastle.

She said: "Funerary heritage is more than a reflection of how societies confront death. It is a celebration of life, memory, and identity. We honour the legacy of those who came before us while deepening our understanding of the human experience.